


Keep The Sunshine In

by Ebthanyy



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, Requited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:42:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26856130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebthanyy/pseuds/Ebthanyy
Summary: They had been partners for several months.Rude was strong and good with healing. Reno was fast and good at getting himself hurt.---In which Reno tries to get his partner's attention.
Relationships: Reno/Rude (Compilation of FFVII)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Keep The Sunshine In

**Author's Note:**

> This fic contains attempted rape, and a violent original male character. He's not here for long. Please mind the tags and take care. 
> 
> This is set before the game, where our boys have been partnered for just shy of a year. 
> 
> Title from The Black Angels' 'Boat Song', which is absolutely on my RenoRude playlist ;) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27fthsYeH9YCwTf38DZtyZ?si=ApWF2gOARCO8kkM7M4e5Kg&utm_source=copy-link 
> 
> Once again typed on my phone and unbeta'd so I'm really sorry for any typos! 
> 
> Let's go!

"Reno, you're drunk," the tone of the velvet voice that haunted his every night sounded disapproving. Disappointed. Distressed. 

Reno didn't care. He was used to it. 

"M'not," was his only response, muffled by the rim of the glass pressed against his lips. The whiskey in the glass was not his first, or second, or even his third. To be honest, he had lost count. He kept paying and the bottle kept pouring. That, at least, was an exchange that he knew well. 

"Tch," was the bald man's only response. His _partner_. Reno risked a sideways glance and found him looking as cool and collected as always, a slight furrow in his brow the only hint of emotion on his face. 

His beautiful, perfect face. One that Reno had spent far too much time imagining towering over him while he fingered himself to sweet oblivion in bed. 

They had been partners for several months.

Rude was strong and good with healing. Reno was fast and good at getting himself hurt. Rude could shoot straight and true. Reno could pilot practically anything, with the controls in one hand and his dick in the other if he chose. 

They were so well suited. Their performance reviews had told them that much. They had a perfect score in the training simulations. They had never failed a mission. They got along well enough, nitpicking never going as far as to be called a fight. They disagreed on some things. They agreed on others. Reno liked to break things and Rude liked to fix them. Salt and pepper. Strawberries and chocolate. Popcorn and butter. 

They were so close to perfect, and it left Reno _wanting_.

He was beyond frustrated. Seven months as partners had told him that Rude wasn't fussed on gender. He had openly declared attraction to men and women and everything in between. The full spectrum; a rainbow of affection. He never labelled himself, never wanted a title to accompany his sexuality. He liked who he liked, and that was fine with Reno until it wasn't. 

Rude could like who he liked. Reno just wished he liked _him_. 

"M'fuckin _bored_ , yo. Dance w'me," he slid off his stool, unsteady on his feet. Maybe Rude was right and he had sunk a few too many.

Maybe he didn't give a flying fuck what Rude thought. 

"I don't dance," his partner reminded him. He had been cradling the same beer all night. Reno glared at him, incredulous, watching the lights of the dancefloor reflect off the dark abyss of his shades. 

Who the fuck wore sunglasses inside? Had Reno ever even _seen_ his partner's eyes? He wanted to rip them off. To stare into his soul and scream at the top of his lungs that he _liked_ him, and they they needed to do something about it and--

"Y'look like a fuck'n pervert in th'shades, y'know," he slurred, sharp tone worn smooth by the alcohol. Rude cocked an eyebrow at him but remained silent, so Reno just shook his head, "w'tever. M'gonna dance," he didn't wait for a response, and staggered over to the dance floor, brushing heavily against the swirling mass of bodies. Hips collided, shoulders swayed, hands roamed. He could feel the beat more than he could hear it, so he loosened his shoulders and began to move in time. 

He risked another glance over at Rude, who had turned in his seat to watch the floor. Or was he? Who could fucking tell when he was wearing those glasses? Reno decided (hoped) that he was (please, _please_ ) looking at him, and reached up to grasp at his ponytail. He pulled his crimson hair free of its confines, shaking the lengths out, turning in one fluid motion to gaze enticingly over his shoulder. 

Some girl was standing by his partner, her dress lower cut than Reno's shirt and skin-tight, shimmering and sexy and alluring as hell in the half light of the bar. He saw Rude's normally stoic expression melt into a smile 

Reno felt bile rise in his throat as she leaned down to whisper in the bald man's ear, and he swore as a couple of dancers moved in front of him, blocking his view. He was shoved unceremoniously further into the crowd 

This was stupid. He should go over there and just confront him, ask him if he preferred some sexy bitch with big tits or if he would ever, _ever_ reciprocate the feelings that had been burning in Reno's gut since they met. This was it. He would waltz right over there and push that girl aside and slide into Rude's lap with a belly full of liquid confidence and he would kiss the surprised look right off his stupid face. 

As he started to step towards the bar again, he felt someone grab his wrist. He spun drunkenly around, intending to tell the owner of the hand on his arm to _fuck off, I got business to take care of_ , but stopped. 

The owner of the hand had tousled brown hair and bulging muscles and ice blue eyes that were regarding him with a lusty intensity. Plump lips were smiling at him, revealing sharp incisors and a tongue that was moving, asking him a question. 

"Huh?" Reno said dumbly. 

"I said, do you wanna dance?" The guy shouted over the music. The redhead could feel the heat rolling off him in waves. He shot another glance towards the bar, saw that stupid whore still standing next to his partner. 

Fuck it. Two could play at this game, whatever it was. 

He turned back to the brunette, closing the gap between them. 

"Hell yeah, wanna f'ckin dance," he slurred, looping long arms around the guy's neck, "wha' d' I call ya?" 

The guy's hands found his waist and, Reno noted with a surge of interest, nearly encircled it completely with their girth. 

"Adam," he replied, leaning in, breath tickling Reno's ear. He smelled fucking _good_ , like wood smoke and sweat and ozone, "what do I call you, other than 'guy of my dreams'?" Adam asked, voice shaped like a smile. 

"Reno," the redhead leaned up to speak into his ear, lips brushing a pierced lobe, "or 'fuck yeah', when ya cock's down m' throat," he slid his hands up Adam's chest and felt his grip tighten on his waist. The brunette laughed, crushing Reno tight against his body as they moved in time to the music. Those broad hands slid further down, cupping his ass and giving it a tight squeeze as Reno ground against him, sensation going straight to his cock as Adam's lips found his neck. 

Reno hoped that Rude was looking at him. He hoped that his partner was as jealous as he was when he saw that girl pawing at him. He tried to glance over at the bar again, itching to see the look on his partner's face, but Adam's grip on him was strong and the teeth sinking into his neck were sharp and _so_ distracting. Reno moaned, hot and breathy, lithe hands burrowing into Adam's soft brown hair. The other man's hands slid up his back, underneath his shirt, hot and searching against his skin. 

"C'mon," he murmured into Reno's ear, pulling back suddenly and grabbing his hand. Reno let himself be led across the dancefloor, grip tight on Adam's hand as they headed towards the bathroom. He risked another glance over his shoulder, a final look at his barometer on this situation, but he couldn't see Rude through the mass of people and desire was burning in his stomach and this guy was kinda hot, if nothing else. Reno figured he would blow him and, if that went well, maybe he would let Adam fuck him against the sinks. 

Anything to dislodge the jealous spikes stuck deep in his heart. 

The bright lights of the bathroom hurt his eyes as Adam shoved him into a stall. He landed on the toilet, colliding roughly with the seat. Adam locked the door behind them. 

The music here was muffled. Reno drunkenly leaned forward and slid off the toilet, landing roughly on his knees, jeans soaking up errant piss puddles on the floor. He didn't care. Adam had unbuckled his pants and his cock sprung free of his underwear. He was cut, and a decent size. Reno looked up at him. 

He wasn't as attractive in the bright lights of the bathroom. His shirt was a little stained and his skin was streaked with dirt and pocked with needle marks. 

"What are you waiting for?" He asked. Reno hesitated, head spinning. 

_What was he waiting for?_

He leaned forward, bracing his hands on Adam's thighs. 

"Y'got a glove, right?" he looked up at him again and the guy snorted. 

"Fuckin' princess," he delved into his pocket and withdrew a strip of condoms, which he all but threw at Reno, "do it yourself," his tone was cold, bored. The redhead fumbled with the condom wrapper, hands shaking as he struggled to grip it in his inebriated state. The bathroom was at least a hundred degrees colder than the cloying heat of the bar, and he shivered. 

"The fuck are you doing?" Adam's voice was sounding less kind by the second. 

_What was he doing?_

"Uh...I..." he hesitated for a second before offering the condoms to Adam, "changed m'mind," he scrambled upright, clinging to the toilet to steady himself as he tried to get to his feet, "don' wanna." 

Adam stared at the condoms in Reno's hand, then at his face. 

Those icy blues were sub-zero. Mako blue, but this guy was no SOLDIER. Just a user. 

"Changed your mind?" He spat. Reno nodded. 

"Outta m'way," he tried to push past Adam to leave the stall, but the other man shook his head, strong hands bracing his shoulders and pushing him back. 

"I don't _fucking_ think so, you slut. What'd you say your name was? 'Cause all I heard was that I could call you 'fuck yeah' when my cock was down your throat," those strong hands shoved him back again, pushing him onto the toilet seat, clawing at his shirt and ripping it open. 

"I'll fuckin' scream," Reno warned, though it came out soft. Weak. Adam snorted. 

"Go ahead," he seethed, one hand coming up to wrap around Reno's neck. He struggled against his hold. Adam pinned him to the seat as he roughly tugged his jeans down his thighs, "no panties, huh? Should've expected that from a slut like you." 

It dawned on Reno entirely too slowly that he was about to be raped, the realization slicing into to the fuzzy edges of his brain all at once. 

He was about to be violated, and probably have the shit kicked out of him for his efforts, while the man he liked-- _loved_ \--got chatted up by some girl, oblivious to what was unfolding in this fluorescent lit chamber across the dancefloor. 

He inhaled to scream. Adam's grip clamped hard on his throat and he choked. He thrashed wildly against his grasp, trying and failing to push him off. This guy was _strong_. Too strong for Reno as he pushed his legs up and felt blindly for his entrance, folding him in half against the cold plastic. 

The hand left his throat to grip his hips tight. 

Reno screamed, long and loud and piercing, and was rewarded with a sharp slap as a result. 

"Shut the fuck up," Adam growled. 

"Stop," the redhead whimpered, skin stinging. His jaw ached, "get the _fuck_ off me! Stop!" He inhaled to scream again, and the hit that struck him was so much stronger than the first. 

His vision swam. He slumped against the cistern as the other man maneuvered his body into position, taking himself in hand and pumping his naked cock once, twice, before positioning himself ready to-- 

The stall door exploded inwards, slamming into Adam and knocking the bastard flat. 

Rude stood behind it. 

_" _Reno_."_

That was a tone that Reno had never heard before. It was rage and pity and hatred and sympathy all in one word, and that word was his name, and it rang in his ears as Rude picked Adam up off the floor and slammed him hard against the wall and laid into him. His fists were a blur. Adam's face was bloodied and bruised by the time Rude threw him onto the floor and started kicking. One. Two. Three. Four. Hard and angry. Five. Adam went still, unconscious or dead Reno really couldn't tell, and suddenly Rude's hands were on him and he was crouched in front of him and he was asking if he was hurt and if he could hear him and the last thing Reno felt was a warm rush of _joy_ at the concern in Rude's voice before his head spun into infinity and he blacked out. 

_\---_

The first thing Reno felt when he came to was, surprisingly, not his banging headache. That came second. The first thing he felt was the impossibly soft sheets beneath him, which told him that he was not in his own bed. 

Then the headache, which throbbed and pulsed behind his eyes and made his aching jaw reverberate with pain. He moved it experimentally, feeling the dull ache but noting with some relief that it wasn't broken. 

At least that bastard wouldn't have the satisfaction of making Reno eat through a straw. 

He pondered briefly what became of him, but then all thoughts and feelings and _wants_ tied to Rude came crashing through his psyche like a freight train and he felt sickness take root in his belly and claw up his throat. 

He pushed those thoughts aside and opened his eyes, one at a time, surveying his surroundings. Grey sheets clothed the bed, a large shelf crowded with books faced it. A lava lamp bubbled happily on the dresser, its warm glow gratefully easy on his eyes. 

Beside that, a pair of sunglasses. 

This was Rude's place. Rude's _bed_. The sheets smelled of him, Reno realised, and his heart thumped in his chest. He couldn't remember a thing after Rude found him in the bathroom, but he knew for a fact that he wouldn't have done anything, especially after his almost assault. 

He peeked under the covers to make sure, and was greeted by a pair of black silk pyjamas that were slightly too big on him. 

_What the _fuck_? _

Just at that moment, a knock came at the door. Reno stared at it dumbly. Would Rude come in if he thought he was still asleep? 

It swung open a crack, and his partner peeked around the door. 

He wasn't wearing his shades. 

"You're awake," he said, like a statement. Reno didn't say anything, "can I come in?" 

The redhead just nodded. Rude stepped into his bedroom with a tray in his hands. On it was a pot of tea, some painkillers, and some fancy looking shortbread. He set the tray down on the bedside table. Reno looked at it, then at his partner. 

"Thanks," he said. 

Then shame, hot and unwelcome, prickled in his guts and he pulled his knees up to his chest and sunk his face into them before Rude could see him burst into tears. 

_"Reno..." there was that tone again._

__

__

"Don't," he mumbled through tears, curling impossibly further in on himself. His head throbbed at the movement but he didn't care. He just wanted the floor to open up and swallow him, to cast him into the void and leave him there to die. He was dirty and worthless and stupid and a coward. He didn't deserve pity, or sympathy, or care. 

He didn't deserve Rude. 

He felt the bed dip beside him. 

"I'm here," his partner offered. Reno looked at him through his tears, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and shame and, fuck...he didn't even know any more. He wished he could split himself open and _show_ Rude the cacophony of his misery, but he didn't have the strength. 

Rude went to place a hand on his shoulder but hesitated. Reno scoffed. 

"I wouldn't wanna touch me either," he sniffed, and Rude looked at him. Really _looked_ at him. 

Of course Reno seen his eyes before. They were the deepest, most beautiful shade of brown. They were kind, and warm, and flecked with amber like the sparks of a campfire in the fall. They were currently full of concern and sadness and sympathy, and Reno couldn't help himself when he opened his mouth again to speak. 

"I'm dirty," he said, hating the wobble in his voice, "I'm dirty and I'm stupid and you should have just left me there--" 

"I should have let you get assaulted?" Rude shook his head, incredulous, "are you pissed that I stopped it?" 

"It would have saved you the trouble--" 

"Reno, explain something for me," he cut him off again, turning to face him properly. Those eyes flared with frustration, "I went looking for you when I lost sight of you. I checked the bathrooms. I heard you shout from the corridor. I get in there, and you're screaming for a guy to get off you. You're in trouble. You're drunk, and vulnerable, and I can hear someone hurting you. Were you honestly expecting me to just turn around and walk out, and let him rape you?" 

"No, I just--" 

"That's not what partners do," the older man said firmly, "that's not what _friends_ do." 

"I just wanted you to fucking notice me!" Reno cried, throwing his hands up and glaring at his partner, "I just wanted you to _look_ at me and--" 

"You wanted me to notice you? By throwing yourself at that guy and almost getting yourself killed?" 

"I was trying to...I don't know! I wanted to make you jealous. I saw you with that girl..." 

"My _cousin_ , Reno," Rude rubbed his forehead, exasperated. 

Reno paused and wiped his eyes roughly with the back of his hand. 

"What?" 

"She's my cousin. She was there with her wife, celebrating a birthday or whatever." 

He sniffed, a little pathetic. 

"I didn't know that, man," like it was an excuse. Rude shook his head. 

"It wasn't a reason to slip off to the bathroom with the first guy to take an interest in you," he sounded weary. 

Disapproving. Disappointed. Distressed. Reno knew this tone all too well. 

"You know I'm a fuckup, Rude," he laughed, bitter and short, voice thick with emotion. Another barrage of tears swelled behind his eyes and he knew that if he didn't settle this shit with Rude now, he never would. An errant tear slipped down his cheek in the span of the silence between them. 

"You're not a fuckup. You _do_ fucked up, stupid things, but you're not a fuckup," Rude said after a moment. He looked at him, and his eyes had regained their warmth. Their reassurance. They were forgiving, and a million miles away from the icy blue orbs of that bastard at the bar. Reno could find salvation in those eyes. He just had to be brave enough to take the chance. 

"I just...really wanted you to look at me," he hugged his knees tight, "you never do." 

"Of course I do. I'm looking at you right now," Rude said it as a joke, and Reno knew it. He gave a weak half-smile and shook his head. 

"Why do you want my attention so much anyway? Every head is always turned towards you, Reno, surely you don't need it from me, too," Rude's voice was calm, unreadable. 

Reno sighed. And paused. And sighed again, heavier. 

Fuck it. 

"I love you," the words left him like a tide, taking every drop of his heart with them. He was scared they wouldn't ever make it back, that he'd be left hollow and empty for the rest of his life, "I've loved you since we met. Ain't never felt like this about anyone else, either." 

The words hung in the air for a second, broken only by a single exhalation from Rude, tacked onto what sounded like a laugh. 

But it was a sound of disbelief. 

"You know what, Reno?" His partner asked, rhetorical, and Reno's heart was just bursting and pulsing in Rude's hands, gripping tight to the precipice, ready to fall into oblivion at a moment's notice, "you are so many things. You're brash, and cocky, and loud. You have an appalling taste in music. You can't cook, you're messy as hell, and you're frustratingly impulsive...but I really did not think you were this _stupid_." 

Reno's mouth hung agape and his chest ached and he felt his stomach drop to his knees and _it's all over--nonono how can he live with rejection like this?_ It stings and it burns and he will never recover and-- 

Rude put a hand on his shoulder. He shifted closer. The hand moved to tuck an errant strand of crimson behind his ear, pausing to brush his cheek tentatively and Reno thought _if he's just playing with me, he's the coldest bastard I ever met._

But of course, he's not. 

Their eyes met and with a single breath, Rude handed back his heart. 

It was fuller, and fit him better than it ever did before. 

"Can I kiss you?" 

He couldn't hide the smile that erupted across his face, and he wiped away more tears, and Rude looked at him like the balance of the cosmos rested on his shoulders. 

Reno brought up a hand to cup Rude's, warm against his cheek, and when he finally spoke, its the happiest he ever remembered sounding in his life. 

"You are the only person in the world who doesn't have to ask if he can kiss me." 

And so, Rude does. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I wanted to write something a little darker for a change, and something unrelated to my farm AU. 
> 
> I also wanted to write them more in character, and a little closer to canon, so I really hope it came through! 
> 
> Unbeta'd as always so all mistakes are my own 🙏 my phone also destroyed the formatting so sorry about that too! 
> 
> I'm @ebthanyy on Twitter 💕


End file.
